Paperwork
by bombalurima
Summary: Zuko's trying to get some paperwork done, but this might be a little difficult with Mai around...lemony fresh Maiko.


**A/N: Only my second full-fledged lemon, and unalike the last one, this wasn't pre-planned in any way. It simply came to me in burst of inspiration. All of this was literally written on the fly. (for the record, I'm a beast at in-class essay writing). Nevertheless, I love how this one turned out. Enjoy, and click the review button! *cough***

**And again, I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes/typos. I'm a bad/lazy proof-reader.**

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Perhaps the most annoying thing about being the Fire Lord, Zuko had to admit, was all the endless amounts of paperwork that came with the job.

Piles of nothing but letters, requests, filed complaints, forms, and sheets lay stacked in what seemed to him like boundless, never-ending columns, towering above him like solid and impenetrable walls, shielding him from the outside world and keeping him holed up inside his study.

Today, he was sorting through the worst of the lot—the _bills. _Normally, it was up to the royal accountants to handle such matters, but after the third bill sent from Ba Sing Se, Zuko decided he would handle the task himself, if only to get rid of the nagging guilt he felt in his gut when he caught a glance of the colossal amount of money his nation owed the Earth Kingdom capital.

He had taken it upon himself, more or less, to rebuild the parts of the world his forefathers had left in ruins, at least, what parts he could handle. Writing a check out in damage compensation to Ba Sing Se wasn't all that difficult, just rather long and tedious. There certainly were a lot of accounts to go through and numbers and factors and a million other things he never would even have considered.

Zuko heaved a groan and set down the paper listing the hundred counts of property damage he had to read through and rubbed his temples, trying to nurse the monotonous, irritating headache he had been sporting for a while now. He instinctively went to rake a hand through his hair, only to come up short. Of course—it was up in a top-knot now, as it no doubt would be until the end of his days, unless he was asleep.

It would feel awfully good to let it down now, just for a little bit, before one of his advisors (pesky, persnickety old men the whole lot were) popped up his head and suggested in a would-be casual but entirely snippy tone that perhaps it was time he got a trim.

Before he could put that one simple, but entirely relieving gesture into motion, there was a quick, light knock at his study door.

He did not his best not to groan again—no doubt it was one of those advisors, ready to poke his nose in with a 'mere suggestion' or one of the servants badgering him with questions about 'anything that he might need at the time'—and called out, against his better judgment, "Come in!"

The door opened up, and into the room slid not one of his advisors or a member of the staff, but rather, a _much _more welcome presence.

"Mai!" Just the mere sound of her name caused the corners of his lips to turn up in a huge, goofy smile, and already, he felt substantially lighter than he had been just a few moments ago, weighted down by the mountains of work.

"Fire Lord Zuko." A small smile was twitching at her own lovely mouth as his girlfriend surveyed him for a moment, pale gold eyes shining.

"Mai," Zuko spoke her name again, though this time he couldn't help but frown slightly. "You don't have to…you don't need to-"

"But that's what you _are _now," Mai reminded him in a light, teasing voice as she slowly shut the door behind her. "It's only what's proper."

Right as she said those words, Zuko caught it, though someone of lesser detection skills than he never would have—in addition to closing the door, she locked it as well.

"Proper or not, I still don't like you doing it," Zuko insisted as she strode forward and over to his desk, coming to stand beside him.

"What's all this?" She inquired, raising a thin eyebrow at the stacks of paper heaped around him.

"Paperwork," He sighed, doing his best to hold back another long, dreary groan. "It's taking a little longer than I expected…and I've been working all afternoon."

"You have?" Mai looked down at him, faint worry glimmering in her gaze.

"Yes, and I'll probably be here all night too," Zuko did his best to keep the sulkiness out of his voice, but it was hard to do so—spending the entire rest of his day cooped up in his study did little to please him, when he could be outside in the fresh sunlight, or better yet, with Mai.

"Mmm…you poor little thing," Mai mock-pouted for him, suddenly moving to stand beside him and resting her hands lightly on his shoulders.

"Mai, what are you-"

"You really need to relax…" Mai murmured, her nails softly digging into the silk of his robes. "You're all tense…" Expertly, she began to massage his shoulders, applying just the right amount of pressure to make it feel insanely wonderful, but almost enough to hurt a little too.

"Mmm…" He tilted his head back, his top-knot pressing into Mai's stomach, which she registered with annoyance.

Her left hand steadily continuing the massage on the respective shoulder, she brought her right hand to the top-knot and as swiftly as she could, pulled it out, causing his dark hair to fall free and messy around his face and down his neck.

She planted a kiss to the top of his head, before bringing both her hands up to his hair, gently pulling her fingers through the strands and working to massage his head instead.

The dull, throbbing headache he had been feeling for ages now slowly began to dim, the pain in his head being swept away like soothing ocean waves by his girlfriend's tender ministrations, replaced by sheer bliss and contentment.

Zuko let Mai keep this up for a few wonderful more moments, before reaching up and taking ahold of her wrist, pulling it around to his face so he could plant a soft, moist kiss to her palm, and then her fingers. He took her hand and pressed it against his cheek, breathing in the faint traces of her scent, unable to help but press another kiss to her hand as he did so.

"Thank you," He smiled again as her fingers gently began to glide up and down his face. "But that's enough. I…I really should get back to my work now."

She paused for a moment, and finally, carefully withdrew her hand from his cheek, nearly causing him to groan at the loss.

"You're right, of course…" Mai's voice was even, measured…but there was something behind it that he couldn't place. It sounded almost teasing. "I'll just leave you to finish up your paperwork then…"

She walked around him and made to move past his desk, back over to the door. He watched her go, the sun from outside streaming in through the window and catching the light in her hair, long legs striding smoothly and gracefully across the floor, and that _backside…_

"Wait," Zuko suddenly spoke, one single word that contained so much emotion, so much desperation and need in it that it a wonder it hadn't choked him on the way out.

Mai halted in her tracks, paused, and slowly turned back around to face him, an inquisitive look on her face.

"Yes?"

"Come here." His voice was low, a little more on the huskier side as he issued his command, for that was all that it was. Mai didn't hesitate this time—she walked towards his desk and came to a stop just in front of it, her eyes never once leaving his face.

Zuko got to his feet, and making sure that his gaze never wavered from her's, slid the upper layer of his robe off, dropping it onto the floor. Her eyes widened slightly as he removed the second, lighter robe beneath—now all he had on were his pants, and of course, the bandage around his chest from where his burn mark was still healing.

He definitely had her attention now. Mai kept her expression as straightforward as she could, but there was no hiding the tell-tale gleam in her eyes or the faint blush on her cheeks as she took him in.

Zuko stepped forward, moving so that he was behind her, and very delicately, reached a hand out and ran one single finger down the length of her spine.

He felt her shiver, her back arching instinctively, and as she did so, he brought his lips down and onto her neck, planting a heated kiss there, his arms moving to encircle her from behind.

"Zuko…" Mai gasped, turning in her arms so she was facing him, pulling him down to fiercely kiss his lips, her fingers twining in his hair once again, this time to anchor him to her.

They kissed without restraint, without anything even slightly resembling control for what felt like ages, until her lips were swollen with his greed (and he couldn't help but feel a small flair of satisfaction at this), before his lips pressed against her neck again, breathing her in.

Mai couldn't help but shudder faintly, feeling her knees shake momentarily. She closed her eyes as his hands, which had been around her waist, slid upward to cup her breasts through the fabric of her robes, gingerly skimming over the area where he knew her nipples were located with his thumbs.

Her breath hitched in her throat, but it was nothing compared to what was coming next. Tentatively, slowly, like a child unwrapping a present at a measured pace to better increase the suspense, Zuko peeled back the separate layers of the robes she herself was wearing, pushing the folds aside until they both fell down around her waist, her robes now only holding on by the strap around her waist.

Her upper body was now entirely exposed, and he made short work of her breast bindings, leaving the snow-white orbs to spill out into his waiting hands. Zuko couldn't help but let out a groan as they did so, unable to believe just how incredibly _soft _they were. Anybody who claimed that Mai was cold and sharp obviously didn't know her body very well.

Her light pink nipples now out in the open and _highly _alert, he brushed his thumbs over them once before, applying a gentle squeeze and then bending his head down to take one into his mouth.

Mai couldn't hold back the squeak that escaped her lips, nor could she help the fact that her knees completely gave out from underneath her, dropping her onto her back on top of Zuko's desk, leaving him sprawled on top of her. Almost all of the paperwork was knocked aside and onto the floor, where neither one of them bothered to acknowledge it.

This was by all means not a comfortable position, the hard wood against Mai's back was a bit annoying, but it was more than worth it. Besides, something equally as hard and persistent was pressed against her hip, and that certainly deserved more attention than the surface beneath her did.

Once he had had his fill of the tiny little nubs, his lips glided down the smooth plane of her stomach before his tongue toyed with her naval briefly, giving her the bizarre urge to giggle.

When Mai did so, Zuko lifted his golden gaze back up to her face and smiled, smoothing a strand of loose black hair out of her face.

"You're sure?" He asked her in a hoarse whisper, one hand toying with the sash of her robe. Nine times out of then, he asked before entering her, or even before daring to make the journey to her most intimate of all places. Zuko still couldn't believe that someone as beautiful as Mai was would let him do such things to her, let alone even look at him, and every time, he asked the question, like he was seeking her consent.

"Yes…" Mai whispered, rising her hips up to press against his. "Please…"

He kissed her lips once before untying the sash with slightly shaking fingers and letting it drop to the floor, wasting no time in doing the same to her underwear. This left her completely and totally naked, her entire body bared to him, spread out before him like a banquet, like a feast.

Zuko couldn't help but rear up a bit, just so he could stare at her at her for a moment, taking in her tangle of hair now falling rather temptingly over the breasts he had already attended to, the gentle curve of her hips, her lean, graceful legs, and that wonderful welcoming dark patch between her legs. His manhood gave a painful throb the moment his eyes connected with this sight, as if reminding him to get a move on, but he forced himself to wait, if only to increase both of their pleasure.

He took his index and middle fingers and glided them from her naval down her quivering abdomen, taking them around and around a slow, torturous path in circles around her clitoris.

"Zuko…" Mai's breathing was ragged, her plea coming out in a whimper as she attempted to wriggle herself into the right position to receive his treatment. "Zuko, _please…"_

He knew what she was asking for, what she was begging him for, but still, he resisted. He drug his other hand along her inner thigh, tracing the folds between her legs until she whined again, squirming beneath him, nearly panting with her own lust.

Zuko then brought his mouth along to follow the same trail that his fingers had, dipping down into the juncture between her thighs as his used his tongue to his advantage, taking his two fingers on the opposite hand and finally rolling that wonderful little bundle of nerves between them.

Mai nearly screamed, her back arching once more as she pushed herself further into his ministrations, tremor after tremor raking through her body. The musky scent emitting from her was driving Zuko halfway insane, but again, he forced himself to hold on for just another moment as he switched his mouth and fingers, now taking his digits and sliding them inside her, his tongue lapping at that magical sweet spot in the front of her.

This time, she couldn't hold it back. A scream fled from her, and after only a few seconds of this deliciously torturous behavior, she could feel the pressure winding inside of her, coiling tighter and tighter until she thought she would go mad, before it broke, and the world went white.

Zuko brought his face back up just in time to see her convulse once, twice, three times as miniature earthquakes racked through her entire body. He held her as she came, listening to the sounds of her breathless moans and whimpers against him as the waves slowly but surely died down.

By now, the ache between his own legs was too much to bear, and he had to pull his own pants off to join the collection of discarded clothing. Mai settled back, her body aching for more, more than ready for him, and bracing his hands on either side of her, he drove himself into her.

Their bodies and breathes were matched, in perfect sync with one another as they moved, the pace gradually picking up until he was moving in and out of her at a pace that left her no time in between each thrust to catch a breath, her mind going completely numb with pleasure.

Neither of them lasted very long—Zuko had held himself back long enough that it did not take much for his release, and Mai followed shortly afterwards, her body trembling as she gave herself up to him, and he to her.

They couldn't move for a minute or two, each other's breathing the only sound punctuating the otherwise silent office. Zuko kissed her breasts one more time, right over her now furiously pounding heart, and then moved up to her lips, delighted when she summoned the energy to return it.

He finally summoned the energy to stand up, and gently peeled her off of his desk, her sweat nearly causing her to stick to it. She swayed on the spot, and might have fallen over had he not caught her, cradling her securely in his arms.

Zuko tenderly scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the long red couch in the corner of his study, something that he already debated on taking a nap on several times earlier. He laid her down on it, watching as she blinked wearily and curled her legs up to her chest, both her naked body and her face glowing softly in the euphoric aftermath of lovemaking.

Mai smiled at him as best as she could, and managed to whisper out, "…love you."

Zuko felt his heart melt at her words, and he reached over and smoothed her sweaty bangs off of her forehead to press a kiss there as he murmured in return, "I love you, too."

The smile stayed on her face a moment more before her eyes drifted completely shut, and in a few seconds, judging by the sound of her measured breathing, she was lost to him, off to slip into her dreams.

He sighed and turned his head, glancing guiltily now towards the destruction they had caused during their act of passion. It certainly could have been worse…asides from nearly all of his paperwork scattered haphazardly around the floor, it looked all right.

And speaking of that damn paperwork…

Zuko looked at the papers littering the floor, full of facts and statistics and property damages and figures, and then looked back at Mai. She never, ever looked more beautiful than when she did after making love, her hair delectably mussed, and now spiced with sex, her cheeks pink, her body completely bared and gleaming with a light sheen of sweat, and her breaths even and content as she slumbered.

It wasn't really much of a choice.

The paperwork, Zuko concluded, crawling up on the couch to hold Mai in his embrace and drift off to sleep with her, could wait. It could certainly wait.


End file.
